Looking to upgrade; is a 40D a good choice?

My husband and I enjoy photography as a hobby with occasional occupational use (he's a tech director for our church, I'm a makeup artist). I come from a film background, using an old Canon A-1, and my husband's had a Rebel xt for 5 years. We are ready to upgrade, but we're still on a tight budget. We can't afford to spend $800+ on a body alone, have no real use for video, and have the opportunity to buy a used 40D for a fair price.

Is this a worthwhile hold-over until we can afford to upgrade to a full-frame body? Thoughts?

its a great body, but for the price i'd also look at the t3i

I would always pick a 40D over a T2i if you're not interested in video.

I absolutely LOVE my 40D. It's cheap, it's simple, it has super nice ergonomics and it does what it has to do. I don't know how much of an upgrade the 40D over a XT would be, but I'd highly recommend a 40D.

Whats a fair price?

For a casual user the rebel line is acceptable--but the 40D is my camera of choice due to the AF speed and control system.

Welcome to the neighborhood.

I can't attest to any other DSLR as the 40D is my first but I'm very, very satisfied.

A 40D here in Michigan can be purchased for $40, body only on craigs list. If you can purchase for that range, yes, it will make a great camera body. You'll be able to sell the 40 when you want to upgrade to a 50 or 7d in the future. The rebel cameras take a while sometimes to sell.

I like the feel of the all metal body and controls on the 40D alot, but, it was my first Canon body. FWIW I used a grip on mine most of the time, it felt a bit small in my hands...the rebels etc. felt like toys. Maybe check the shutter count if you can, they are tough cameras in my experience. Enjoy it!

timberlandlh wrote in post #13541100
A 40D here in Michigan can be purchased for $40, body only on craigs list. If you can purchase for that range, yes, it will make a great camera body. You'll be able to sell the 40 when you want to upgrade to a 50 or 7d in the future. The rebel cameras take a while sometimes to sell.

$40??

I shot a 40D, and I honestly think I'll get another. It's such a great body and it fills the needs of any photographer. My thoughts are if you can't do it with a 40D, you need faster glass

If you can get a 40d for $40 I will take 3.

I rarely use video so not having it would not bother me, so that puts me in similar situation as you in that sense.

That said, unless I could spring for a 7D, I'd be buying a 40D. It's a fantastic feature set for the price.

Getting a 50D over the 40D gains you micro adjust, but you sacrifice image quality and FPS. Getting a 60D loses you the magnesium body, FPS, and CF cards and doesn't even have micro adjust (step back from the 50D). All the comparable rebels in that price range (T2i/T3i) only gain you some megapixels at a loss of the nice pro layout with the thumbwheel as well as general build quality.

More than likely the above user meant a 40D can be had for $400, which is close to what the forum prices are currently at.

I have 3 canons
Xti - which is nice but my wife and i let our 11yr old daughter use it to learn how to take photos

T1i - my wife use this for her photos, and i use it for shoots and other stationary / slow moving photos.. I feel that the 3.4 fps just doesnt cut the mustard for action/sports photos

40D - this is my main all around camera, since im not a pro. and dont charge for the photos i have shot. I use this for paintball photography because the 6.5 fps allows me to catch alot more shots i would miss with the T1i. While this camera is only 10mp it still shoots pictures just as amazing as the T1i.


I personally feel that the MP of a camera doesnt matter. to me MPs come into play when your cropping pictures, but i could be wrong since i very rarely crop pictures.

When i bought my 40D i only had enough cash for the body but if you have the money for a T2i/T3i, I'd buy the 40d and use the money you saved to buy an L lense..

Watch this video, it helped me make my choice on body's... http://youtu.be/hk5IMm​EDWH4

I've had 2 - 40D's, 1 7D and a 5DII. I now have 1 - 40D and a 5DII. 40D is a great body, I'll not get rid of the one I have. To me, it has a much nicer feel than the Rebel line. I think $400 would be a good ball park number.

I had a 30d and loved it but got a good deal at Christmas time last year for a virtually new 40d and upgraded to that.

The 40d is a great camera, fast fps, with some excellent features. I couldn't be happier........

Good luck